Dir. Andres Muscietti

 

The senior partner of an investment brokerage, Jeffrey Desange, has a breakdown due to a financial collapse and kills several co-workers and his estranged wife. He then kidnaps his two young daughters, Victoria 3 and Lilly just 1. Finding an abandoned and isolated cabin where he plans to kill his daughters, but the children are saved by a dark ghostly image. 5 years later Annabel and Lucas (Jeffrey's brother)are faced with the challenge of raising his young nieces that were left alone in the forest for 5 years.... but how alone were they?

 

MAMA starts out and plays till the very end with high promise, then just as most falls flat on its face. I have to make note however that it seems like every damn movie Del Toro is associated with has some sort of eerie creature lurking in a basement or cave making noises. I know that I for one am getting tired of the same old rehashed shit. It seems as if lately all these Spanish decent directors are coming into the mainstream under his wing, with the same damn backgrounds. I for one am honestly tired of it.

 

Even the spirit was lame, I felt they showed her way to early on in the film and way too damn much. The only saving grace was the erratic movements and shadowing followed by the flawless performance set forth by the two lovely little ladies. True at times as it was supposedly night time you can see daylight through the windows, and not just on one occasion either. But the cinematography was pretty trippy for the majority and made it merely decent at best. Bottom line is this: MAMA is a decent movie at best only if you didn't have to pay for it. Such a disappointment.

 

NECRoSTEIN